ty’s views of her matriarchal role in a patriarchal society. She is in a situation where she must struggle between her want for independence and her motherhood instincts: "My heart all dagger. Do it. Don’t flinch. You must. Come, hand: the sword. This course must run. No weakness. No…memories. Flesh of your flesh! Forget you loved them for one short day, forget. Then weep, wretch, weep, Who killed to prove your love.(p.42, Medea) Medea is forced to take drastic steps in order to achieve her feminist goals of freedom and independence. She must kill her children and lose the sympathy of the audience. Earlier in the play the chorus, who reflect the dominant values and ideology of the time, agreed with her views on women being disempowered and how she was wronged by Jason:"…what you do is far from just: deserting her" (p.19,Medea). However, at this point in the play the chorus no longer sympathizes with Medea and her actions and actually plead with her: "On our knees we beg you- think again. Your children must not die."(p.29, Medea). This reveals the most significant part of the play in which the audience, who instead of supporting Medea now are shocked and disgraced by her. The loss of sympathy for Medea because of her plans of infanticide is a tool showing that the matriarchal stereotype of women is a belief that is still firmly held by society. The ‘motherhood’ and ‘nurturing’ role are both characteristics concerning femininity that Medea out rightly disregards when she kills her children.Medea’s questions the inequality of women in a patriarchal society, contradicts Jason’s chauvinist beliefs, challenges the stereotype that women are weak and passive and completely disregards the feminine role of motherhood. In society today many people believe Medea to be a pioneer of feminism, even though her society/chorus scorns Medea after she killed her children. Medea still reveals many...
